


Brothers

by Aquilaaqua



Series: Keith Kogane-Wayne [2]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, Voltron: Legendary Defender, Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Bruce adopts Keith, Gen, Home Alone, Keith is part of the batfam, Sibling Rivalry, post young justice s1, pre voltron
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-04
Updated: 2019-04-10
Packaged: 2019-10-04 06:56:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,046
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17299898
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aquilaaqua/pseuds/Aquilaaqua
Summary: Jason is the newest addition to the Batfam. But he and Keith do not get along. When an incident forces them to work together, they finally treat each other as brothers.But when tragedy strikes, the family falls apart. Can Keith find it in himself to trust anyone to get close to him again? Perhaps the scout from the Galaxy Garrison can help him do that?Starts 2 years after YJ season 1, 4.5 years before VLD.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Happy New Year to all my readers and welcome to the second part of the Keith Kogane-Wayne series! As mentioned in Adoption, this part is about Jason's addition to the batfam and how Keith and Jason go from not able to stand each other to close brothers. Jason's death, the impact it has on the batfam and Keith's decision to join the Galaxy Garrison will be touched in here as well.

The scene that Arata encountered when Alfred admitted him into the Wayne Manor made him sweatdrop. Purple and blue eyes were glaring at each other, another set of lighter blue eyes shifting between them as though the owner was wondering if he should step in.

  “What’s going on?” Arata asked warily.

  “He stole my knife!” Keith cried, pointing at Jason. Arata winced for he knew how possessive Keith is of his mother’s knife. He was aware of Keith’s temper and the aforementioned possessiveness which led to a broken nose and many bruises for a kid who thought they could simply take it when Keith first lived at the home. Hence the enactment of the ‘Knife’ rules.

  And expected, Jason scowled with narrowed eyes. “You punched me!” Yup, the temper and possessiveness are still there. Arata wondered if it was normal that he was too used to this that he could easily predict Keith’s temper.

  “Because you intruded into my room and took my knife without permission!”

  Jason scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Why would Bruce even let you have a weapon? I can use it better since I’m from the streets! You are nothing but a spoilt brat who thinks they can use such a flimsy stupid knife!”

  A war cry escaped Keith’s lips and he lunged at Jason to hit him again. Unfortunately, Dick saw it coming and quickly darted behind him and grabbed him by the waist to restrain him.

  “Jason, enough!” Bruce snapped as he came downstairs. “Apologize to him.”

  Jason scowled defiantly and looked away. Bruce gritted his teeth. “ _Now_.”

   Jason gulped and slowly looked at Keith. “I’m sorry.”

    Unfortunately, even Arata could hear the insincerity and hate in his voice. Keith knew this, but he was not reacting badly…yet. And Bruce would take it instead of another fight. He glanced at Keith with a pointed look.

  “Apology accepted.” Keith responded sullenly. Dick slowly released his hold on Keith who made his escape to his room. Jason stormed off to the living room, slamming the doors loudly.

  “I thought you said things were fine with Jason’s adoption.” Arata glared at Bruce pointedly when they retreated to his study.

  “They were. Before yesterday, they were only ignoring each other. But Jason snuck into Keith’s room and found his knife. You know what happened from there.” Bruce sighed, rubbing his eyes tiredly. “So now they are both grounded until I say so.”

  “Oh boy.” Arata shook his head, smiling slightly. “I guess I should have warned you sooner why I had the ‘Knife’ rules in place. Some of the kids learned that the hard way.”

  “How do you handle having so many children under one roof and not have any physical brawls?”

  Arata blinked at him incredulously and snorted. “Just because you always happen to be luck and come by during peaceful times, that doesn’t mean I haven’t had my fair share of breaking up backyard fights. But I wouldn’t worry myself over it if I were you. The sibling fights and rivalries are normal. Give them time and they will eventually sort out their problems.”

  “I hope you’re right. Did you bring the thing that I asked for?”

  “Yup.” Arata reached into his satchel and pulled out a file. “Paper trail of Norman Hardy’s monetary transactions for your investigation of Hardy’s Construction Money Fraud case.”

  “Thanks. I owe you one for this.” Bruce accepted the file and placed it in a secured drawer until he heads down to the Batcave later.

  “Just make sure that the kids continue to get a future education and we’ll call it even.” Arata shrugged. “So now that Jason knows that you are the Bat, are you going to tell Keith about your secret identity?”

  To Arata’s dismay, Bruce shook his head. And so he explained, “I want Keith to have a normal life. This life that Dick and I live in, it’s not something that I want to force on him.”

  “Keith deserves to know the truth.” Arata spoke sternly. “Do you know how it feels to be let down by the ones you care about after taking the leap to trust them? It’s something that you can never forget nor forgive! Keith will see that you not telling him that you’re Batman is a betrayal of trust because you cannot trust him.”

  It took all of Bruce’s willpower not to flinch at Arata’s words. He knew too well that Arata understood what Keith was going through as a fellow orphan and foster child. Despite so, Arata cannot understand the world that he and Dick are living in. Jason being pulled in was inevitable since he was forced to reveal his identity to Jason after he stole the Batmobil’s tires and decided to take him in. Jason will officially become part of this life once he finishes his training to become Robin.

  The life of Batman, Nightwing and Robin is not something that Bruce ever wants to force upon anyone. It’s more than just going out there and beat up the bad guys. It’s about making the hard choices to do the right thing. Sometimes, doing the right thing forces him to make choices that badly affect those around him and even hurt them, physically or emotionally. Which is why Bruce is determined to keep Keith and everyone else away from the life of a hero.

* * *

 

    Let it be known that their last fight was not Keith’s fault. Jason was the one who provoked him on both occasions. Keith scowled at his knife as he ran his fingers across the blade. He could not understand why he felt so angry when Jason insulted the knife. It was almost as if he was insulting his own mother which made no sense.

  Sure, Keith had wondered what his mother would be like if she stuck around their family instead of leaving. His father never said anything bad about her. In fact, he always spoke of her with love and adoration. But it did not change the fact that she left him. Whenever Keith got upset that he doesn’t have a mother, his father would smile sadly and tell him that his mother never intended to leave. But she had to.

  The knife in his hand was his mothers, his father told him. She wanted you to have it, he said.

  Keith’s frown deepened. A knife can never replace his mother’s presence. But on some days, it did not feel that way. Whenever he had the knife close with him, he felt safe, like she was looking after him from afar. And that’s why he never wanted anyone to take it away from him.

  He never meant to hit Jason but his anger overruled him again. When he found out that his knife was not in its usual place under his pillow, he freaked out. Alfred will not be pleased with the mess he made while trying to find the knife. Eventually, he tracked it down to Jason’s room and found Jason carelessly tossing it around. The moment he saw the knife in Jason’s hands, he lost it and punched Jason, screaming at him from stealing the knife. It was an unpleasant time for Dick and Alfred who had to separate them before things start to get bloody and wait for Bruce to come back. Once he found out about the fight, Bruce was not happy. But to Keith, he was entirely justified for hitting Jason for breaking into his room and steal his knife just as Jason believed he was justified for his ‘finders keepers’ mindset.

  In the end, an exasperated Bruce grounded them until they learn to get along and correct their mentality.

   With a groan, Keith buried his face in his pillow. It might take a lifetime before Bruce ungrounds them. There is no way he can get along with Jason.

  A knock on the door made him shoot up and hide his knife under his pillow before calling out, “Come in.”

  Bruce cracked open the door and frowned at the mess the room was. The beanbag cushions were thrown haphazardly, the sheets and quilt strewn on the floor and drawers of the cupboard and desk wide open.

  “You should not have hit Jason when you realized he took your knife. You should have came to me and I would have settled it.” Bruce crossed his arms as he stood in front of Keith. The boy winced and lowered his head.

  “I’m sorry.” He mumbled, hoping that it would be enough to appease his father for the time being and leave him alone. Unfortunately, Bruce was clearly not going to leave his room anytime soon as he sat down on the bed beside him.

  Clearing his throat awkwardly, Bruce folded his hands on his lap. “I’m not very good at this, but I really hope that you and Jason will eventually get along.”

  “Jason should not have taken my knife in the first place.” Keith sulked.

Bruce eyed him carefully. “Are you more upset that he took your knife or that he insulted it?”

  Keith adverted his gaze. “Maybe a little of both.”

  Bruce said nothing as he eyed the pillow which hid the knife. “The next time you strike someone for any sensible reason, I will have to confiscate your knife.”

  Keith’s head shot up in horror and shook frantically as he grabbed Bruce’s arm tightly. “No, don’t! I’ll behave! Please don’t take it away!”

  Bruce’s gaze became almost sad but he remained firm. “Keith, this is not Arata’s home where we can enforce ‘knife rules’. I have already been lenient with the matter by allowing you to keep it in your room without strict supervision. And as a parent, I must discipline my children when they do wrong.”

  Patting his arm, he gave Keith a reassuring smile. “But I trust you to work things out with Jason. I promise that I will not take your knife away unless you give me a good reason to.”

  Keith blinked up at him blankly. “You make promises for many things. But can you really keep them?”

“I’ll do my best.”

  That’s what everyone says, Keith silently thought. But he did not voice it out. Bruce did not deserve it, not after everything he has done for Keith


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Home Invasion (Part 1)...coming up next, Home Invasion (Part 2): Home Alone style.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writer's block is a tough obstacle in writing this chapter. But once overcome, I had fun writing this chapter.

Never in Keith and Jason’s fantasies did they imagine the scenario that led to them getting along would be a robbery of the Wayne Manor. Keith and Jason were alone in the manor one night while Bruce was out dealing with an emergency at WE with Alfred accompanying him and Dick having a sleepover at Wally’s place at Central City. The two boys were still mad and ignoring each other. With an unspoken mutual agreement to avoid the other, the boys were in different sections of the manor.

  With nothing better to do that night, Keith was holed up in his room, practicing katas with his mother's knife. When he was living at Arata's home, his caretaker taught him how to properly use his knife to avoid hurting himself and others badly if he needed to use it to defend himself in a pinch.  Keith appreciated the effort Arata put towards him even if he doesn’t feel like he deserves it.

  Wiping off the sweat from his brow, Keith glanced at the clock to find that it was only half past nine.  He mentally calculated the chances of bumping into Jason if he went down to the kitchen to grab something to eat. However, his growling stomach had other plans. So forgoing caution, he made his way down to the kitchen, hoping Alfred wouldn’t mind him messing through his pantry.

  When Keith reached the kitchen, he scowled when he noticed that Jason was digging through the cupboards, likely looking for food too. He was about to leave when his rumbling stomach betrayed him. Jason whipped his head at him and they stared down at each other.

  Sixteen seconds and Keith decided his empty stomach was not worth a confrontation so he attempted to make himself a sandwich nonchalantly while ignoring Jason. But soon, he grew uncomfortable with the glare directed at him.

  “What?” He muttered through a mouthful of sandwich.

  “It’s your fault I’m grounded.” Jason hissed. Bruce refused to let Jason train for Robin while he was grounded and stipulated that unless he was able to get along with the whole household, he will not let Jason go out as Robin.

  Keith scowled, fingers digging into the sandwich as he fought the urge to strike Jason again. He did not want to get into a fight again that will risk Bruce confiscating his knife and he did not have the energy to. Jason continued to rant but Keith eventually tuned him out.

  Jason startled him when he slammed his palms on the table. “Are you even listening to me!?”

  “Hm.”

  Jason grabbed him by his T-shirt, yanking him out of his seat. “Listen here-!”

  Whatever Jason was going to say was lost when the power went out. Jason dropped Keith out of surprise. Keith quickly pulled out his phone and turned on the flashlight app. Shining it outside, he noticed the slight crackle of electricity where the invisible electric nets are. He sighed in relief that the back-up generator was still working and will continue to power the security traps around the property for another hour.

  “The back-up generator should keep thieves out until we find the source of the power outage.” Keith shined his phone at Jason who flinched. “Where’s your phone?”

  “In my room.” Jason scowled. “And where are you going?”

  “Generator room. I need to check on the back-up generator. I think there’s a spare torch in one of these drawers. You need to go to the fuse box at the back and check if it is damaged.”

  “You’re not the boss of me.” Jason grumbled, crossing his arms and refusing to budge. Keith forced himself not to react to Jason’s uncooperativeness and made his way to the generator room. Meanwhile, Jason found the torch and tried to get to Bruce’s study so that he can wait out the power outage in the Batcave. Thankfully, the cave has its own generator and he can find where the power outage came from. If it is from one of the villains trying to break in, he would need to tell Bruce.

  However, when he arrived at the foyer, he heard yells from outside. Darting to the window, he cursed when he saw Penguin and his goons at the gate, attempting to climb over it, only to be electrocuted. Penguin yelled at his men to climb over the walls. Jason knew that the traps will still be active. But with the number of men Penguin have with him, there is a chance that one or two might get past them. And when they do, their first priority will be to shut down the back-up generator so that the rest of them and Penguin can get in.

  Growling, Jason hastened his pace to Bruce’s study. Once inside, he attempted to open the secret entrance. But the grandfather’s clock did not budge.

  “You got to be joking.” He growled, realizing that he was locked out of the cave. Belatedly, he remembered that being grounded from Robin also meant being barred from the cave. With no other options left, Jason ran to his room, hoping to get ahold of his phone and contact Bruce. Keith no doubt had no idea about Penguin and would not think to call Bruce until it was too late.

* * *

 

   “Looks like nothing’s wrong here.” Keith nodded in satisfaction as he closed the panel to the engine of the generator. Thanks to the years in the desert with his dad, he learned how to repair and maintain generator and hovercycle engines. He would never admit it in front of Bruce, but he missed the desert and his life there. His new life was good and Bruce had enough money to get anything that they want. But money can never buy back his father’s life and the life he had in Arizona.

  His was pulled out of his reverie when he heard the backdoor creek open. Initially, he thought it was Jason finally checking on the fuse box. Just when he was about to call him, he froze when he heard the mutterings that clearly belong to a grown man, not Jason. Ducking behind the generator as the door to the room cracked open, Keith realized that it was burglars and they somehow got pass the security traps. Peaking out, he saw two men approach the generator.

  “Hurry up and shut it down!” The first burglar hissed at his companion. “Penguin is getting impatient and he’ll kill us if we don’t disable the traps.”

  “Don’t rush me!” His companion hissed back.

  Keith’s blood ran cold when the gravity of the situation hit him. His eyes darted around, looking for anything that he can use to stop the men from turning off the generator.

  Aha! He thought triumphantly when his eyes landed on a flatbed trolley behind him and a tool box beside it. With the burglars getting closer, he silently pushed the trolley into their path. The moment the first goon step on it, he yanked on the rope tied to it.

  “Ah!” The burglar yelled as he fell backwards and was K.O.’ed when he hit his head on the hard floor. Keith grabbed the first thing he could from the toolbox and threw it at the second burglar’s head which turns out to be a wrench. The bad news is that the second burglar saw it coming and quickly ducked out of the way. The good news is the wrench hit a shelf overhead the burglar instead. The shelf toppled over and crashed right on top of his head.

  Keith careful checked to make sure the burglars were unconscious and did not suffer serious injuries before tying them up with some cables he found. Hauling the burglars on the trolley, he pushed them out of the room. After double checking the generator, Keith locked the room behind him and took the key with him.

Now, he had to find Jason and make sure that he’s safe.

**Author's Note:**

> Regarding future parts, after completing Voltron S8, I have tentatively decided to include it in here and a possible Under the Red Hood sequel directly after it. But nothing is confirmed as of now as I want to wait for YJ S3 to make future additions and how I can incorporate it in this series


End file.
